Deserted roads, shuttered shops — life under ‘strict lockdown’ in Nagaland’s Kohima

A seven-day strict lockdown was imposed by the District Task Force on Covid-19 in Kohima's Municipal areas on Saturday to arrest the spread of coronavirus.

Traffic cops along with other police personnel have been deployed at almost every intersection to check vehicles | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint

Kohima: In Nagaland’s capital city Kohima, the roads wear a deserted look after a strict seven-day ‘total lockdown’ was imposed in the Kohima Municipal areas Saturday.

The District Task Force on Covid-19 imposed this strict lockdown to enhance active surveillance in the region as cases continue to surge in the state. As of 28 July, Kohima has recorded over 350 cases of coronavirus, while Nagaland has over 1,300 cases.

The surveillance will be undertaken by the Chief Medical Officer coordination team of Kohima, who will also conduct rigorous contact tracing for early detection of suspected Covid-19 cases in the region, said Kohima’s Deputy Commissioner Gregory Thejawelie in an official order issued on 23 July.

ThePrint’s Yimkumla Longkumer and Angana Chakrabarti give a glimpse into life under lockdown in Kohima.

Empty streets and closed shutters were seen in every corner of Kohima Town | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint

All shops, including grocery stores, are shut. Only pharmacies outside containment zones remain open | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint

Movement of all private and commercial vehicles are banned during the lockdown period, except in the case of a medical emergencies | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint

Movement and gathering of people in public places and within their residential areas are prohibited | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint

Inter-state, inter-district and inter-village movement has been restricted for the time being. While the movement of medical emergency cases and essential goods and services is allowed with proper measures | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint

All legislators and officials required to be a part of the sixth session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, which will be held on 30 July, have been exempted from the lockdown | Photo: Yimkumla Longkumer | ThePrint